The Kite Festival

It was a little strange waking up to One Direction staring down at me. But after that initial shock we got up and went to have some breakfast. Carrie was going to walk her dog with Adam (the dog was okay but nowhere near as amazing as Maddie) so we were told to help ourselves to cereal or toast or anything in the fridge. The problem with this is how far do you go? Neither of us felt comfortable taking lots or even the nice cereal so we stuck to Rice Krispies as there was plenty of them. I'd much rather be told exactly what to have. However, we did have a nice cup of tea. 

After a quick shower (didn't want to use up too much water) we sat down at the kitchen table (quite a nice kitchen with a Belfast sink, although a little small) and read some newspapers. There was a kite festival going on just round the corner so after reading up on it in the paper we headed out solo (no one else seemed very interested). It was only a five minute walk away but was bringing in crowds of people, mainly families going for a nice day out. Set beside the sea there were loads of stalls, a band playing, rides and a large variety of food available. Somehow we got in as students so it cost us $5 each. It was a lot bigger and better than I'd expected. We were both thinking it would be like Bishop Wilton show or Barmby Moor feast but it was way bigger (Matt still thinks Wilton show is the second best day of the year after Christmas). We walked round the whole festival, checking out all the stalls which took a good hour. We bought a nice cranberry and pomegranate flavoured ice tea to share and of course admired the kites in the kite field area. There was a team that flew some small kites in circles chasing each other which was quite cool (the kites not the people). 

Around half 12 we found the area with lots of food and bought a sausage sizzle from the coast guards (sausage and onions in a piece of bread) and tried shredded roast beef in a bun with gravy. They were both pretty nice, the sausage especially. We ate in front of the stage but unfortunately the band that had been playing had just finished. Instead, SpongeBob was about to come on stage for the cheering children. We were intrigued so watched for a while until it got too cringey. It was time for the water sports extravaganza show anyway so we went to sit by the water in the sunshine. We were expecting big things from this but were disappointed. The water skiing was okay but it wasn't exciting. The wake boarding was the coolest because the guy on the wakeboard did lots of flips in the air. I'm sure it was all very difficult and complex but it's not very interesting to watch. However, at the end the water skiers made a three tier human pyramid while skiing which was impressive. 

Later in the afternoon there was the air show so someone in a small plane did twirls and all sorts up in the sky just above the festival. When we felt we'd seen everything we bought some mini hot donuts and sat on some grass beside the festival to watch a few amateurs fly their kites. Apart from being nearly hit by the same kite twice it was nice to sit in the sun and eat the tasty donuts which had been cooked in front of us. They were plain but had a cinnamon flavour to them which was yummy. We were mainly sitting around doing nothing because we didn't want to go back to the house yet. We thought it would be best if we stayed out pretty much all day. However, when it got to 5pm we slowly walked back, thinking we didn't want to be late for tea (what if they ate early?). We got a little lost as all the roads looked the same but after about half an hour we found the house. Carrie and her husband, Malcolm, were sat in the garden, chimanea lit, chatting to their friends Vicky and Sam. I think they'd all had a little to drink so they welcomed us and chatted about life and where to go in the world. We were also given wine which we got through rather quickly. 

At around 8pm Vicky and Sam went home and dinner was served. It was a slow cooked beef curry which was okay but it was obviously from a jar. I liked the flat bread with mango chutney the best but I'm a big mango chutney fan. I think I've had too many good curries in Asia so it takes a lot for me to be impressed by one now. It was gone 9pm when we'd all eaten (Adam and Carrie's daughter Shauna ate with us) so we had a cup of tea and chatted to Carrie's eldest son Joe and his girlfriend as they had just walked through the door. They are both 18 and were very friendly. By 10pm everyone was going to bed as they had either work or school in the morning so we chose to get an early night too.